


Love is Not Enough

by Jemisard



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Big Brother Shiro (Voltron), Child Neglect, Foster Care, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-02-28 14:58:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13273890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jemisard/pseuds/Jemisard
Summary: Shiro met Keith when they were 15 and 8 respectively.Shiro wanted to be a Big Brother for someone who needed it. Keith was a foster child listed as "at disadvantage".A series of chapters covering how Keith came to say "Shiro is the only one who never gave up on me".Warning and tags will update as story does.





	1. Chapter 1

"You're very young to be looking at volunteering with a project like this."

Shiro nodded, trying not to fidget. "Yes, ma'am, I know, but I don't feel like my age is a disadvantage. Some younger children find adults threatening and can't really open up with them, whereas someone closer their own age is more relatable."

Ms DuBois tried to smother her smile. "I'm not sure how many children would find you all that relatable and young with an attitude and maturity like yours."

"It's not the same." And she knew that, but she was testing him to see if he did. "Please. I really want to give back somehow. I've had a really blessed life, and I just want to help someone who hasn't had those things." He gave her his most earnest, pleading look. "Even if you just let me sit in on some sessions, I have my police check and my working with children certification. And I did the basic and advanced life saving and first aid courses."

"All right, all right, I can see you're not only keen, but you've done your research and background on this." She set aside her tablet and leaned back into her chair. "Most people think they understand how difficult this can be, but struggle with the reality of it. Some of these children are aggressive. Some of them are quite unpleasant to be with. We don't give up on any of our children, but it can be very difficult to stay patient and try to find something likable about them, something you can connect with. A lot of adults find it overwhelming. And you're only fifteen, Shirogane."

He could just blurt out something from the texts he read, something put together to sound like what she wanted, but it felt like the final test. And he wanted to be accepted because of what he believed and honestly knew, not because he managed to fool her.

She waited in silence while he put what he felt into words.

"I realise I don't actually know how hard it is. I don't think I can imagine what it will really be like. But I know I want to try, and I know I've never given up at anything just because it was hard. These kids don't have the option of just quitting on their lives because it's hard and we can't either." He nodded slightly, deciding that was what he really wanted to put out there. "If a kid says they don't want to me as their big brother because they're not comfortable or happy, that's okay. But I won't give up on them just because they're not pleasant. No kid is a bad kid, just a kid who has had a lot of bad happen to them."

Ms DuBois made a noise. Shiro didn't know what that noise was, amusement? Challenge accepted? Disbelief?

But she nodded to him. "All right, Shirogane. I'll get you to finish your paperwork and we'll process you into the system. Welcome to the Big Sibling Program. Orientation is Saturday morning and we'll see how you go."

Shiro beamed at her, standing and offering his hand. "Thank you. I won't let you down."

*~*~*

The office of the Big Sibling Program was located out the back of their main premises. Shiro hadn't really seen inside of the main building when he'd had his interview, so it was all pretty new to him on the Saturday when he arrived for orientation and the meet and greet.

It was painted a nice, friendly green colour with a bright mural on the far wall, showing children and adults holding hands and smiling. It was well intentioned, but Shiro couldn't help but intenerally cringe at the adult version of child-like art.

"Shirogane?"

He turned on his heel, smiling at the sight of Ms DuBois. "Still determined to do this," he said by way of greeting.

"So I see. Come on through. Kira, Alan and Hyoseng are with the children; they're the social workers who supervise the program along with myself." She swiped the door lock with her keycard and held it open for him. "They're out in the play yard, just follow the hallway. Just sit and watch."

He hurried through, nodding and continuing on as told. The big double doors were ajar, and the sound of children playing drifted through them.

Stepping out, it could have been a playground anywhere. Children screamed and laughed and shouted; adults hovered around the edges, calling encouragement and words of caution. Older children like himself were fewer in number. The 'younger' siblings near his age were the afternoon orientation group and the few here seemed to be established volunteers. Or maybe, they had been these kids and were now giving back to the program.

He sat down with a pair of nervous looking young women who were talking to a man with a name tag reading "Alan". "Hi. I'm Shiro, Ms DuBois sent me through?"

"Hello, Shiro." Alan shook his hand. "I'm Alan, I'm in charge of new big brothers and sisters. We're waiting on a couple of others and then we'll be sorting people out. Most of the adults here are last year's volunteers, some have charges who aged out or moved away, a couple are hoping to make a good match after some set backs. While we wait, feel free to grab a name tag for yourself."

One of the other newcomers twisted to show her name tag. "Gerda," she clarified. "And Erhi."

"We're still waiting on Ivar and Robin... and that seems to be them. Please, come and join us, grab a name tag and we'll see about getting started." Alan drifted off, getting everything arranged.

Shiro grabbed a sticky tag and wrote his name, slapping it onto his chest and sitting down again. There was maybe a dozen children ranging from seven or eight up to maybe twelve. Some were dressed in Sunday best, faded and darned but well looked after. Someone had put love and effort into getting them ready for today.

Some were not so lucky. A few looked a bit grubby in a way that was more than just a bit of rough housing; nails stained and clothes frayed and dirty. It seemed unfair that someone hadn't been there to do more, but in the end, that was part of why he was here. To help.

Some of these kids just needed mentoring, a bit of extra help. Some of them just desperately needed someone to care.

"All right, volunteers. You all know why you're here, so here's how we do things. We want you to just interact with the kids. Don't force anything, but just ask to join in, or let them approach you and talk to you. We're happy to talk to you if you have questions, all the lead volunteers have a yellow ribbon on their wrist. Good luck."

Some of the adults moved off to the tables to draw, others went to the playground to talk and join in.

Shiro sat back, wanting to get a feel for the group. Erhi was sitting with him, so was Ivar.

Shiro found his attention was quickly drawn by one boy. He sat by himself, apparently disinterested in the other children and the play environment he was provided with. He looked to be no more than nine, small and thin with pale skin and messy black hair.

He caught Hyoseng's attention when she came near. "Who's the little boy by himself?"

Hyoseng glanced and then her face did a strange thing. It was a stifling of whatever response she wanted to have but it still made it part way out before she forced it into a grimace like smile. "He- That's Keith."

"Keith?"

"He's been with us for four orientations now. He's one of our foster children; the hope is to get him a mentor who can stick with him, even if he has to be moved to another family. Someone consistent in his life."

Shiro watched the little boy. His hair was a mess and he sat holding his backpack in his arms like someone might try and take it away from him.

"No one's picked him?"

"He hasn't allowed anyone to. Keith is... difficult for most people," Hyoseng explained. "I wouldn't suggest him for such a young volunteer as you."

The other children didn't try and approach Keith. One adult pointed to him, talking to another child. The child pulled the face that Hyoseng had stifled. Distaste. Dislike.

"He can't be that awful. He's just a little boy."

"He's not awful. He's just, difficult. Violent, sometimes. He has a lot of problems that pose a significant challenge for him."

The adult–Ira, according to her name tag–was heading over. She crouched down near Keith; the boy shied away from her and hugged his bag closer.

Shiro couldn't hear what was said, but he could watch what happened. Ira stayed crouched, speaking, reaching out in clear offer.

Keith stayed away, tried to ignore her. He actually turned his back at one stage, hunching over his bag.

Ira reached out and touched Keith's shoulder, large hand coming to rest on him.

Hyoseng was already starting to call out, to move, even as Keith flew into action.

"DON'T TOUCH ME, DON'T TOUCH ME, GET OFF!" The withdrawn, quiet child of before was gone, screaming with fury, fists lashing out and teeth snapping. "DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!"

"Keith!" Hyoseng grabbed him, physically picking him up and swinging him so she was between him and Ira, then she let go. "Keith, stop. Stop! Keith, listen to me! Stop!"

Everyone else had gone quiet, watching. A couple of the children were giggling, but Shiro thought it was probably some sort of displacement behaviour, nerves rather than actual amusement.

Keith flung himself up against the fence, teeth bared in a snarl and making a low, gutteral, animalistic sound. Hyoseng was forming a physical barrier between him and everyone else but he didn't look like he wanted to fight. He looked like he wanted to run and hide.

Alan had Ira and was taking her to a bench. One of the older children came over with a first aid box and started to help patch up the scratches on Ira's arms.

Hyoseng ushered Keith inside, not touching him but clearly upset. Angry, but controlling herself. Shiro watched as they vanished inside.

"Hi."

He looked at the boy who had approached him. "Hey."

"I'm Ren."

"I'm Shiro."

"You look young. Are you in school?"

"Yeah. I'm in high school."

"Were you one of us?"

"No. I just wanted a little brother or sister, so I came here, to help someone. I don't have any brothers of sisters."

"Oh." Ren rocked on his feet. "You should come and play with us."

"All right." Shiro stood up and followed Ren to the sandpit, but he couldn't help but glance at where Hyoseng came back out.

Keith didn't come with her.

Shiro saw a pair of dark eyes peering out of a window and then sink out of sight and he knew what he was going to do.

"Sorry, Ren, I need to speak to Hyoseng." He gave the boy a smile; Ren seemed completely unconcerned by Shiro's change of heart and went back to play.

He walked over to Hyoseng. "I know he won't want anyone. But I want you to let me try. Please. If he asks you to not let me come back, I'll give up, but I want to try."

She gave a heavy sigh. "There's other children, Shiro. Who need someone. Who would love to have someone."

"I know. I know that." He looked at the group, playing, talking, even the shyest of them just sitting with an adult, drawing and colouring. He looked back to her. "But that's not enough. They might love to have someone, but he needs someone."

"If you do this, you can't just give up. You'll be stuck with this." With him, Shiro heard unsaid.

"I understand. If I need to bring in my parents to sign off anything additional, I'll do it."

Hyoseng sighed again. "You better go inside and talk to Ms DuBois. But... reconsider, Shiro. You're very young, and a lot of adults couldn't handle this sort of stress."

"It's okay. I understand." He looked up and saw the pale face at the window again, watching them. "Things worth doing usually aren't easy. Doesn't mean we shouldn't do them."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith have their first one on one session and Shiro meets Keith's guardian.

It wasn't Shiro's job to be a therapist for his little brother.

But he still read up as much as he could. He wanted to know what he might face and what would help, so that when it came the next weekend, he was as prepared as he could be for meeting with Keith.

When the time came, he was still nervous, but feeling confident that he could probably not set off Keith's temper. He met Ms DuBois at the door and let her lead him to an office.

Keith sat inside. He didn't look any neater or cleaner than before, though he wasn't any worse off. He was still hugging his bag to his chest, sitting in the corner and glaring out balefully at the world.

"I'll just be next door if you need me," Ms DuBois said. "Keith, be nice for Shiro."

Keith didn't speak, just wriggled back into the corner more.

"We'll be okay." Shiro nodded, gave her a reassuring smile.

She gave him a slow nod and stepped out of the room. Shiro caught the door, stopping her from closing it entirely and then came a bit closer to Keith.

The moment the boy turned wary, Shiro sat himself down on the floor, well out of reach and not putting himself between Keith and the door. "If you want to go, you can, I won't try and stop you. Okay? I won't touch you. You don't like people touching you, do you?"

Keith stared at him, blinking slowly. Shiro mat his gaze but didn't hold it. Instead, he pulled the coffee table a bit closer and slid one of the sheets of paper to himself, picking up a pen.

"My name's Shiro. Well, it's Shirogane, but everyone calls me Shiro." He carefully drew a square, thinking about what he might turn it into. 

Keith didn't say anything.

"Do you mind if I talk to you? You don't have to talk to me if you don't want." Keith had so little control over his life, over where he lived and what family took him, it seemed like the only thing Shiro could give him was the choice to stay and the choice to speak.

Keith didn't respond.

"Okay. Well, I'll talk. I don't have any brothers or sisters, but I always wanted to be a big brother." He started drawing a space ship, not worrying about making it look particularly fancy, just recogniseable. "I want to join the Garrison when I'm old enough. Fly in space. I think flying would be really amazing."

He set aside the piece of paper. "Do you want to come draw? You can sit at the other end of the table." Outside Shiro's reach still.

He waited a moment, and then caught movement from the corner of his eye. Slowly, Keith uncurled and shuffled across the floor until he was sitting opposite Shiro, kneeling up to see the tabletop properly.

"Hi there," he said softly.

"Hi." Keith didn't look at him. He still had the straps of his backpack over his left arm. But he also pulled over a piece of paper and a marker.

"What are you going to draw?"

Keith shrugged.

Shiro didn't push the issue. He started drawing the outside of his house, still nice and simple, to encourage Keith to just draw what he wanted and not feel like he had to keep up with Shiro.

"Do you like animals? We have lots of wild birds at our house that come in to be fed." He started drawing in the birds on his picture. "I like the ravens and crows because they're clever."

"I like hippopotamuses."

Shiro looked up, genuinely surprised. "Oh?"

No explanation followed.

He let it slide. "I really like school. I get to learn a lot and see my friends. There's a really big library and we have access to lots of databases. Do you like learning?"

Keith nodded.

"Do you like reading?"

A little shrug. His tongue was starting to poke out the corner of his mouth as he concentrated on drawing. Shiro bit his cheek to stop himself reacting to it; it was incredibly cute and disarming.

"Do you like playing sports or games?"

Another shrug. He certainly had the scratches of an active kid, but given his general lack of interest in other children, Shiro supposed most sports wouldn't be that appealing. Too many people. Too much contact.

"I liked climbing trees," he finally said.

Keith looked up. That had his interest.

"Do you think we could go outside and climb a tree?"

"Could we?" Keith was looking brighter than Shiro had seen.

"Sure." He didn't know if it was allowed. But if it would make the little boy a bit happier for a while... "Come on, we can go out and find a good tree to climb. But you can't run off, okay? I won't hold your hand or anything, but if I tell you come back, you need to. I'm trusting you." He stood up slowly. "Deal?"

Keith scrambled to his feet, pulling his backpack on and gazing up at Shiro. Under the brightlight, Shiro could see that Keith's eyes weren't dark afterall. They were a strange shade of violet that seemed almost unnatural.

Designer genes and in the foster system. The world could be a crazy place.

Shiro headed out, trusting that Keith would follow him. He was gratified to hear the soft slap of trainers on linoleum behind him as they went to the main doors and headed into the grounds.

The outside was an enclosed park. There were a few other pairs out playing, but Keith ignored them and ran straight past Shiro towards one of the trees. It was right near the fence, and would possibly be a bit hard to get up into the bottom branches, but if Keith wanted help, he'd undoubtedly tell Shiro to come help him.

He stayed back a little, watching as Keith eyed off the tree trunk and then jumped, fingers catching on the bark and then scrabbling up with short kicks and little grunts. Amazed, Shiro could only gape a little as Keith grabbed the lowest branch and got up into the tree.

"You go!" He gave a brief clap, beaming up. "That was amazing, Keith!"

Keith startled. He didn't slip at all, but he was clearly startled, looking at Shiro with a sort of confused, lost expression.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Shiro came a bit closer.

"I... climbed the tree." His voice was hesitant.

"Yeah. That was a hard climb, I don't think I could've done it at your age." He gave Keith a broader smile. "You did really well."

"Oh." Keith seemed to think about that and then he just started climbing again, scrabbling upwards.

Shiro wasn't sure what to make of that. "Can I climb as well? Or should I find a different tree?"

"Mm. I guess you can climb this one." Keith's voice came from somewhere up higher. He was a fast climber.

"Thanks." He pulled himself up onto the lowest branch, looking up to see how far he could go before his weight would be too much. Maybe halfway? He wouldn't push it too far.

They both climbed for a while. Shiro stopped when he wasn't confident the branches would cope; Keith was quite a way higher.

"I'm stopping here." He straddled the branch and shuffled to lean into the trunk, one arm half wrapped around it.

"Why?" Keith reappeared a little further down, far quicker than Shiro would've liked him to descend.

"I don't want to put myself in unnecessary danger."

"What's that mean?" Keith slid down the trunk to just above Shiro, draped on the branch like a leopard. 

"Well, any higher and the branches might not hold me. So I'm more likely to fall. I'd rather just climb as high as I feel safe than push myself just for another foot higher."

Keith hummed, feet hanging down and his worn sneakers nearly in Shiro's face. "I guess..."

"I think you're a bit more of a daredevil than me," he confessed. "But it's still nice up here. It's peaceful."

"People don't pull your arms and hair when you're in a tree," Keith stated.

Ah. That helped explain why he liked them. "No, they don't. I bet you're the best climber in your house, aren't you?"

"All my houses. I'm in my third home. The first was a... transi-thing home. You just stay a little while and then you go somewhere else. And then I was with the Merseys but they didn't like me so now I'm with Angchok."

It was the most Shiro had ever heard him say. "What happened to your Mum and Dad?"

He realised it was the wrong thing to ask even as he said it. Keith's expression shuttered off and he clambered up another branch before draping again, one foot dangling and flicking in an agitated manner.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me."

"Not going to," came the sulky reply.

"That's okay. You're allowed to say no to me. Or tell me to go away, but I'll come back for next session."

"Why?"

"Well, because you might say go away, and just mean you want some time by yourself and the next day you feel like some company. Or tell me to go away because I'm annoying you but you don't stay annoyed forever."

"No. Why would you come back after I told you to go away?"

"Well... because you probably don't mean for good. And I don't want to just give up. I think we could be pretty good brothers with a bit of practice."

Keith didn't say anything else, but he came back down to the branch just above Shiro, so Shiro figured it was some kind of success.

They'd only been given an hour for today, since no one knew if Keith would tolerate Shiro or if Shiro could cope with Keith. It seemed to end too fast, because there was a bit more chat and then Ms DuBois was calling for Keith. Next to her, a rotund, friendly looking man waited patiently.

Shiro climbed down from the tree. "We're over here. Keith's just up a bit higher, he'll take a little bit to- oh. Hi."

Keith landed next to him with a hefty thump.

"You shouldn't jump from too high, okay, buddy? You might hurt your knees."

Keith looked and blinked and didn't bother responding.

"Are you getting on?" Ms DuBois looked hesitant. Wary even.

Shiro tried to disarm her concerns with a smile. "We got on great. I'll be back whenever Keith wants to meet up again." He wanted to reach over and give the boy a half hug, or a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but he laced his hands in front of him to stifle the impulse. Keith didn't like being touched.

The man looked at Keith. "Would you like that?"

Keith nodded.

"When would next be possible for you, Shirogane?"

"Oh, well, I'll get most of the my homework done tonight, so I can do tomorrow if Keith wants."

Keith looked to the man–presumably Angchok–with a wide eyed gaze.

"Well... I suppose, but you'll need to have him for three hours. I have to drop two of the others at their game and pick them up again."

"Oh, well, I can do that," Shiro agreed. "We can do a three hour block here, right, Ms DuBois?"

"The older children will be here. Do you think you can cope?"

Shiro nodded. "Yes, we'll cope."

"Then I'll drop Keith here at ten," Angchok said. "Come on."

Keith stepped ahead of Angchok, who hooked a finger in his backpack and directed him out, hand not on his back but the gesture clearly tensing Keith up again.

Shiro clenched his hands against one another and bit the inside of his mouth. He wasn't his guardian. Angchok must've had a reason for doing what he did. But it still grated on Shiro.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith have a proper, longer session together with tree climbing and building blocks and lunch.

Shiro arrived five minutes early, to make sure that Keith wouldn't have to wait on his own if he got there first.

 

It ended up being a moot point, because Angchok was ten minutes late and pulled up in a car with a full backseat of screaming, arguing children.

 

Keith let himself out of the front passenger seat as the car drew to a halt, striding away from the car like a child much older than eight.

 

"Be ready at one," Angchok called from the car. "Be good for Shirogane!"

 

"Don't be ready so we can leave you behind!" One of the other children yelled.

 

"Anna-Marie! None of that! Thank you, Shirogane, we'll see you at one!" And Angchok was off again, taking away the screaming and fighting.

 

Shiro crouched down to eye level. "You okay, Keith?"

 

Keith stared at him blankly.

 

"Okay. You have a good night's sleep?

 

"Can we climb trees again?"

 

"Yeah. Sure." Whatever might cheer him up a bit. "If you want to." He opened the door and let the boy dart ahead of him, trotting down the hallway towards the back doors.

 

By the time Shiro caught up, Keith was already kicking his way up into the lower branches of the same tree. There's some of the older children from the program out here; 'children', but they're Shiro's age, or older in a few cases.

 

He could see one or two looking. Snickering. 

 

"Are you going to climb, Shiro?"

 

"Yeah." He looked up the tree. "Yeah, I'm coming up." Stuff what the others thought. He wasn't there for them, he was there for the little boy up the tree. "But we can't stay up here all the time! You'll need lunch at some point, I'm not telling Angchok I didn't feed you while you were with me."

 

"I have food."

 

"Oh. Did Angchok pack you lunch? Because I can always make us some food. It won't be grand but I-"

 

"No. I took some. Yesterday, from the office, when Ms DuBois went out. In case I didn't get lunch. I still have it." Keith's face popped over the edge of a branch. "It's just biscuits, but if you have them with milk, you feel full longer."

 

"If you-" Keith was eight. He shouldn't be working out how to not feel hungry. To steal food in case he didn't get fed.

 

Shiro had never wanted to hug someone so much in his life.

 

"You- You don't ever have to be hungry again, okay? I'll always make sure there's something for you to eat."

 

There was a sound. "That's  _ dumb _ ."

 

"Why?"

 

There was silence.

 

Shiro looked up. "Keith?"

 

"You're dumb," came the sulky reply.

 

"That's not very nice." It even stung a little. He didn't know what he'd done to warrant Keith's temper.

 

"Tough." There was scrabbling noises and a flash of colour as Keith went higher.

 

Shiro continued to sit there for a little bit. "Keith, I'm going to be at the base of the tree. When you're ready to come down."

 

He got the exact reply he expected: Nothing.

 

He climbed down and sat himself in the dirt at the base of the tree, leaning back against the trunk. He felt a bit silly for being hurt by Keith's sudden  name calling; even sillier for letting names get to him, especially from an eight year old.

 

"Already giving up?"

 

Shiro squinted up at the girl. She looked to be his age, or near enough. "What?"

 

"With Keith. Already giving up?"

 

"No. Just my butt going numb sitting in a tree. I can't drape as comfortably as an eight year old." He shifted slightly. "Why would you think I was giving up?"

 

"Most people do. He's a hellion." She held up her hands. "Hey, good on you for sticking with him, just thought I'd check if you were already in over your head." She offered out a pack of gum; Shiro shook his head. "My Big Sister, Rosa, buys it for me, says it's a less filthy habit than most."

 

"Good on Rosa?"

 

"I hope you don't give up on him. I wouldn't mind seeing you around more." She gave a smile and a wink. "Angel."

 

"Shiro."

 

"Angel!"

 

Angel rolled her eyes. "Later then. Shiro." She turned and left.

 

Shiro watched her go.

 

"Missus Mersey called me a hellion."

 

"Oh?" Shiro didn't look up, but he did think back. "That was the people you stayed with before Angchok?"

 

"Yeah. She said I was a little hellion. I don't know what it means, but I know it's bad." Keith appeared on the lowest branch. "Are you angry I called you dumb?"

 

"No." Shiro closed his eyes. "I'm a bit hurt, but I'm not angry."

 

Keith didn't say anything.

 

"I'm really not, I promise. My mum always say that angry is what we feel when we don't want to feel other bad things, like disappointment, or sadness. Or hurt."

 

"That's dumb. I get angry lots because people do things they shouldn't."

 

"Like touch you?"

 

"Yeah." There was a long pause. "I'm sorry I called you dumb."

 

Shiro finally looked up and gave Keith a smile. "Thank you. You're forgiven."

 

*~*~*

 

They had stayed outside for a while longer until the area had filled with a few more teens and adults and Keith started to look uncomfortable.

 

Shiro took him inside instead, down to one of the room set aside for Keith's age group, filled with toys and crafts suitable for a boy of eight.

 

Inside, Keith was much more subdued, switching his backpack to hang at the front where he could hug it to himself. Shiro hoped it was just knowing other people were around and not the inherent discomfort of being inside.

 

Actually... neither sounded good.

 

"What do you like to do inside?" Shiro sat himself on the floor, crossing his legs.

 

Keith sat down on the rug across from Shiro and just watched him.

 

They'd done some drawing the day before, but Shiro didn't know if Keith wanted to draw or had just done it because Shiro was. "Do you like dancing?"

 

Keith shook his head.

 

"Okay." Shiro thought. "Would you like to make something? There's some click-blocks, we can play with them."

 

There was a bit more interest, so Shiro went and got the large bag, unfolding it into a playmat with the pile of blocks in the middle. "You can play with these. We're allowed to."

 

He started to poke through the pile, pulling out pieces that struck his fancy and snapping them together. If he just focused on playing, he hoped Keith might join in once he felt he wasn't being watched or judged.

 

He started making a spaceship.

 

He could see Keith in his periphery, shuffling in closer and sliding his backpack off his front. Like before, he kept his arm through the straps.

 

But he picked up some pieces and carefully clicking them together.

 

It was fairly clear it was something Keith had played with before, he had that same confidence that he had when he climbed the tree. Familiarity gave him confidence; new things were probably a bit daunting for a boy who had been moved to so many different homes.

 

Shiro didn't watch what Keith did, just focused on making his ship. He did try to keep on eye on what pieces Keith took so he didn't take something the little boy might want; he didn't know if he would ask for it, demand it or simply say nothing and be quietly disappointed.

 

When he was satisfied with his spaceship, he put it down and pulled out his phone to take a photo of it.

 

"What are you doing? Why are you doing that?"

 

Shiro stifled his smile. "My parents will be curious about what we did today. So I'll take some photos to show them and also so I can remember this day better."

 

He didn't offer. He waited to see how Keith reacted.

 

"Do you want to photograph what I make?"

 

"I would, yeah. But only if you're okay with it." He glanced up. "My parents would be interested to see what you do, too."

 

Keith hadn't made a spaceship, but he had made a repulsor speed racer. 

 

"You like racing?"

 

"I like going fast." He hugged his bag into his lap again. "Daddy had a stripped down R-Series 2 and he'd go super, super fast over the sand and rocks."

 

Shiro tried not to show any emotions. "That sounds really fun."

 

"Yeah." Keith's voice went soft. "When Daddy's better, I'm going to go and live with him in our house again. And he'll let me drive the RS2."

 

"That sounds like it'll be great fun." No mention of a mother, yet. But it was good to hear that Keith's father was probably alive, just unwell in some way.

 

Hopefully unwell wasn't a euphemism for something.

 

"You think we can still hang out when your Daddy's better?"

 

"Maybe." Keith offered out the racer. "Photo."

 

"Okay." Shiro took the offered toy and set it down to photograph it. "Could you build me an SR2? Show me what it looked like?"

 

"Okay." Keith grabbed the spaceship and smashed it apart.

 

"Hey, what are you doing?" It was shock more than anger.

 

"I need the long bits you used on the ship spine." Keith didn't even look up, reaching for the racer.

 

"Uh-uh, I haven't taken a photo yet." He quickly took one before Keith decided to grab anyway. "It would have been nice to ask first. Or tell me you needed it."

 

It did draw Keith's attention briefly, a flicker up look and back again.

 

"I'm not angry. Just telling you, it would be nicer to ask."

 

"Okay." Keith held out his hand. "Are you finished with the photo?"

 

"Sure." He handed over the racer and leaned back on his hands, watching Keith work.

 

Keith worked with that same determination he drew with. It only took a few moments for his tongue to start poking out the corner of his mouth with concentration.

 

Shiro so badly wanted to photograph him, to be able to show other people the cute little boy who played with click-blocks and climbed trees rather than the cornered animal they saw. But he didn't want to take Keith's photo without permission and he didn't want to distract him to do so.

 

Besides... he had a feeling Keith wouldn't want his photo taken. Wouldn't understand the point of it.

 

Something to think on. He had time to work on it, he didn't plan on giving up on the little boy.

 

"Done." Keith held out the lump of blocks. Shiro took it, turning it around. He could see the intent, the lighter frame, the same engines. A stripped down RS2. "I bet your Dad got a lot of air with this."

 

"Yeah." Keith gave a tiny smile. "We'd go up the rocks and then  _ whoosh _ ." He gestured with his hand, sailing out into space and then coming down again.

 

"Your Dad sounds pretty cool."

 

"He is." Keith pointed at the racer. "You should photo that."

 

"You're right, I should." He set it down, then paused and thought. "Could I photo you holding it? Since you made it."

 

"Mm. I guess so." Keith picked it up and Shiro leaned back to get a clear shot. It wasn't quite the adorable concentration, but Keith didn't actively scowl so Shiro was calling it a win.

 

"All done."

 

It was broken apart as soon as Shiro said it and something new started. Shiro just gave Keith a slight smile and let him play.

 

*~*~*

 

It was amazing how well behaved Keith was for the rest of the afternoon. For all Shiro had heard about him, there was no sign of the bad tempered, angry little boy that everyone else kept telling him Keith was.

 

He was prickly, yes, but there were clear tells for when he was upset. The set of his jaw. The way his head tilted. And, yes, name calling, but it had just been the once.

 

Shiro made them some sandwiches at twelve, to make sure Keith was fed before he was picked up. Keith retreated to eat, but was bribed back to the blocks after he finished.

 

At ten to one, Shiro said it was time to pack up. Keith looked ready to argue, but Shiro gave him a reassuring smile. "Just for today. We can play with them again next time."

 

"When's next time?"

 

"Well... that will depend on when we're both able to. But at the absolute latest it will be next Saturday." The centre was open all weekend for this type of thing. "When would you like to see me again?"

 

Keith thought about it. "I- don't know."

 

"Well... how about we ask Angchok if we can meet after school on Wednesday? That's in three days. You can tell me how school's going."

 

"Okay." He was definitely more subdued than he had been, but Shiro supposed no one enjoyed a fun playtime coming to an end.

 

They packed up the block into the mat and Shiro pulled the mat shut and tied it up again to put away. Keith pulled his backpack on again and then obediently followed Shiro out to sit on the front steps.

 

As it turned out, Shiro needn't have worried about not being there waiting. One came and went with the two of them sitting there next to each other.

 

"Is Angchok often late?"

 

"Uh-huh. Anna-Marie takes ages to get ready and make everyone late. And Rupert gets car sick, so we have to stop for him." Keith scuffed his sneakers against the stair.

 

"And sometimes you don't want to go?" Shiro was careful to sound a little amused rather than critical.

 

"... maybe."

 

Shiro could easily see Keith not wanting to go and kicking off like he had when Ira grabbed him. He'd throw a temper tantrum and it would hold everything up, especially trying to deal with multiple children.

 

"... I did the same thing sometimes."

 

"Really?" Keith's eyes were almost comically wide. "But you're a good kid!"

 

"I wasn't always good." Shiro wanted to emphasise that to Keith, that 'good' and 'bad' were things you did, not what you were. "Sometimes, my mum would tell me to go to bed and I'd sneak out my window to play in the backyard."

 

Keith's eyes stayed wide. "Really really?"

 

"Really really  _ really _ ," Shiro agreed.

 

"I thought good kids never did bad things," he breathed out.

 

"I'm not a good kid. I was just... a kid. Like you. Kids are sometimes bad. Like me sneaking out. Or like you hitting Ira. And sometimes kids are good. I don't tell lies to my parents, even if it means I'll be in trouble. And you said you were sorry for calling me names AND you said thank you for your sandwich."

 

"Oh." Keith rocked back and forth slightly. "I did do those." He looked at Shiro and gave a small, hesitant smile.

 

"You did." Shiro gave him an encouraging smile back. "Hey, I think that's Angchok now."

 

The smile vanished again. "I don't want to go. I want to stay here with you."

 

"I know you do. But I need to go home and do my chores. And you need to go home."

 

"That's not home!"

 

"Hey, Keith." Shiro moved to crouch in front of him. "I know you don't want this to end. And it's not. It's just on pause until Wednesday."

 

The car drew to an idle and Angchok leaned through the window. "Hello, Shirogane, I'm sorry we're late, Anna-Marie couldn't find her clean clothes."

 

"It's okay." He kept looking at Keith. "You going to go back with Angchok, buddy? Without any yelling?"

 

Keith looked past Shiro to the car and back again. "I guess. But we can play on Wednesday again?"

 

"Yeah. I'll sort it out with Angchok." He stood up, gesturing Keith to the car. "Go on, hop in. Angchok, sir? I know the program gave you my home number and cel, can I ask you to call me tonight to arrange our next play date?"

 

Keith clambered in the back seat, immediately getting shoved by the boy in the back seat and shoving him back.

 

"Boys! No fighting! Yes, I will call tonight when they are in bed. Around eight." There was a sharp crack and crying. "Keith! Do NOT hit! Tonight, Shirogane."

 

Shiro saw them drive off, Keith wrestling his bag back from the other boy, who was now rubbing his face and crying while Angchok yelled at them to behave.

 

He got the feeling that Wednesday couldn't come fast enough. Maybe for both of them.


	4. Chapter 4

Shiro went home and showed his parents the photos he had taken and talked about their meeting. About the things he had seen and the way Keith was with him compared to other people.

His dad thought Keith was probably reacting to someone who was calm and had the time to devote to just him, which was, afterall, the whole point of the program. His mum offered give him a couple of extra chores for extra pocket money so he could take Keith out for the occasional treat; his foster homes could probably only hope to give that sort of one on one.

Angchok called that night and they arranged for Wednesday. Shiro's school wasn't too far from Keith's, so he could walk over and then they could bus into the city centre. Shiro would get Keith to the city hall by five, so he could head home with his guardian after work. It only gave them a couple of hours, but it was enough time for them to get a drink and snack and hang out for a while.

Wednesday came around. At times it seemed to take forever; then it was there and Shiro was filled with nerves. What if he couldn't cope with Keith in a more public environment? What if he ran off? What if he lost him? He didn't want to be the first Big Brother to lose his charge.

Despite his worries–or because of them–he walked briskly from his school to Keith's. The junior school was only a couple of blocks over and he made good time, arriving as the students were starting to pour out.

It wasn't hard to spot Keith when he came out. Other children gave him a fair bearth, though on occasion they ducked in to shove him, only to duck back laughing when he'd growl and swing. Shiro strode towards them, a small frown on his face. "Hey! Stop that! Don't shove!"

The kids scattered, leaving Keith looking up at Shiro. His expression was guarded, gaze slightly baleful and entirely wary.

"You shouldn't hit them, either," Shiro said, keeping his tone mild. "Because they'll use that to get you in trouble when they started it."

Keith scowled and hefted his bag onto his shoulders.

"I'm not going to tell Angchok, don't worry. Now, I'm not going to make you hold my hand, you're not a little kid, but same as before, okay? If I call for you, you have to come back to me, I have to trust you to do the right thing. You going to do that for me?"

The boy nodded, hair flopping everywhere. "Yes, Shiro. I don't have to hold your hand but I gotta come to you if you call me."

"That's really good. I'm super proud of you for being so mature about it." He shoved his hands in his pockets to stop himself reaching out to touch. "We're going to get the bus into town, okay? There's a really nice park near the library and we can have a drink and my dad sent some snacks for us. Sound okay?"

"Uh-huh."

Shiro started them towards the bus stop. He wanted to hold onto Keith's hand and was glad his hands were shoved in his pockets to stop him reaching. Keith trotted along next to him; he looked a bit cleaner, his nails scrubbed and missing the smudges over his face.

"What did you do in school today?"

Keith shrugged.

"Well, I had chemistry. We have a practical, which means we got to play with chemicals and study their reactions. We're doing the elements."

"What's that?"

"Well..." Shiro sat down on the bench at the stop, patting next to him. Keith hopped up, switching his bag to the front to hug it. "Well, basically they're the building blocks of everything. Like, water is made of Hydrogen and Oxygen. And there's lots and lots of them and they can combine in lots of ways to make everything there is."

"Wow." Keith swung his legs, contemplating that. "Where do they come from?"

Shiro didn't want to get too far into it. He wasn't sure he really understood and more importantly, it probably wouldn't interest Keith.

"Shiro?"

"Stars," he heard himself say. "All the elements are made in stars as they burn and explode and live and die."

"... you're lying to me." It was a sulky accusation.

"No, really. Elements are born from stars. Honestly. You, me, your clothing, our food, the air, the rocks, everything. It's all made of elements and elements are from stars." Shiro looked up at the sky. "I'm going back out there. To the stars."

Keith shuffled slightly closer to tug on Shiro's sleeve. "Can I come with you? When you go into the stars?"

Shiro glanced at him, smiling. "I hope so, buddy. It'd be nice. I'm going to join the Garrison Space Program."

"I don't know about that. Tell me about it!"

"A please would be nice next time," Shiro reminded gently.

"Please."

"I would've told you anyway, but thank you." And he started to tell Keith about the Garrison. Even when the bus came and the option was to stand next to Shiro or sit elsewhere, Keith chose to stay close, even letting Shiro use his arm to shield him from other people bumping into him.

Shiro had covered most of it by the time they got to the park. He sat Keith down at a picnic table and left his bag with him, telling him to wait while he went and got them drinks.

He came back with milkshakes, sitting opposite him and giving him a choice of strawberry or chocolate, not surprised that he took the chocolate. Most kids would. Then he got to offer the triumph. "My dad baked us brownies."

The reveal was made all the better by the shock and then delight on Keith's face as he was given one piece. He inhaled along it before nibbling at the corner, the picture of childish delight.

They sat for a while, Keith slowly eating his way through the brownie and slurping on his milkshake. Shiro didn't watch him, but he kept him in view of the corner of his eye to make sure he stayed there.

"Can I go play? Climb trees?"

"Do you have any schoolwork to finish from today?"

The noise suggested that yes, he did.

"Do you want me to help you with it? That way, it's done faster and you can go play without it hanging over your head." He opened his bag. "Or you can come help me with mine..."

"Nuh-uh." He shook his head.

"Do yours instead?"

"Yeah." He opened his bag and pulled out his tablet, a somewhat clunky, older model. He unclipped his tab-pen and brought up the work he hadn't done. "It's just handwriting."

"Ahh, and you think it's a bit silly to work on?" The nod was completely expected. "Well, you know having good handwriting is actually useful. There's lots of times you'll need to handwrite things, like letters and cards to people, or sometimes you might go into a dark-zone and only be allowed pen and paper. And it helps your fine manipulation."

"My what?"

"Fine manipulation. It means, being able to do little, precise things with your hands. Which is always useful for someone going into space."

Keith's face lit up again. He dragged his belongings over to Shiro's side of the table and sat next to him, up on his heels.

Bingo. The idea of getting into space was clearly a good motivator.

"Okay, let's see your exercises." Shiro watched Keith awkwardly scratch out his letters. "I think it's your grip making it more difficult. Do you mind if I touch you? Hold onto your hand to help you?"

There was that moment again, where Keith seemed like he didn't know what to say, because he'd never been asked that before. Then the walls went up. "I s'pose."

Shiro wrapped his arm around Keith, trying not to put any weight on him, just lightly holding his hand. "All right, now, you want to use your fingers, not your whole hand. Just use your hand to move across the page and your fingers to make the pencil move."

Keith tried, but was clearly struggling with coordinating the fingers and hand. "It's too hard!"

"Of course it isn't. It's hard, but you need to practice to get better. Here, just try write the letter and then move your hand." He held Keith's hand in place and then helped him use just his fingers to manipulate the pen.

It took a few more goes before Keith started to get the feel for it. Shiro let his hand move away to give Keith his space again.

It was painstakingly slow, but there was definite improvement compared to the scrawl of before. "You're doing really well. I think maybe you just weren't as interested in writing as in climbing trees."

Keith hummed and did the last letter. "Can I climb now?!"

"Go on." Shiro's grin faded slightly as Keith packed everything and put his backpack on again. "Hey, you don't have to carry that with you. I can look after it."

"No." It was sharp. Sullen.

"You don't have to. You can take it with you, that's fine," he soothed. "But, if you ever decide you don't want to carry it, I'll make sure your bag stays safe. I won't open it, won't move it, just make sure it stays exactly where it is."

A beat.

"No." But it wasn't as sharp, wasn't defensive and brittle. "I need it with me."

"Okay. You go play. And when you get hungry, come back and there'll be another brownie, okay?"

"Okay." Keith ran over to the nearest tree, jumping and latching onto the bark, shuffling up. He had a ridiculously strong grip for such a small kid.

Shiro brought out his own homework. He could work on it while keeping half an eye on Keith; frankly, he didn't think he needed much help once he got himself up a tree.

It was just everything outside of the tree that he seemed to need a bit of help with.

*~*~*

The second brownie was dutifully handed over when Keith reappeared out of the tree. Shiro made sure Keith had plenty of water with it after his climbing and playing. He had managed to finish up most of what he needed to for school the next day while Keith was playing, which was a weight off his shoulders.

"Shiro? Can we do this again?"

"Yeah, of course we can. As long as the weather holds." He gave Keith a soft smile.

"What happens when the weather gets bad?"

"We'll just go somewhere else. Like the library. Or a cafe."

Keith thought about it for a while as he finished off his brownie. "For how long?"

Shiro wasn't sure he was following. "What do you mean?"

"How long do I get to keep seeing you? When does it stop?"

Oh.

Shiro told himself not to hug, no matter how much he wanted to. "As long as you want, Keith. I'm not going anywhere, you get to keep having meet ups with me. That's part of being a Big Brother."

"But what if I get moved? Can't they move me from you as well? Missus Mersey had me moved to Angchok. And Anna-Marie says the last boy like me was moved, because he was a bad kid." Keith didn't even look upset, just matter of fact about it all.

"Keith. You are not a bad kid. Even when you do bad or naughty things, you're not a bad kid." Shiro ran a hand through his hair. "Okay? And I'm not going to be moved on and you're not going to be moved on from me. You're stuck with me."

"Okay." Keith didn't really sound like he believed it, but more like he was humouring Shiro. Maybe wanted to believe, but he wasn't game to.

"And we can see each other again on Saturday, yeah? At the Centre?" The Centre had food and drink and first aid.

Keith was quiet.

Shiro tried to decipher his silence. "We don't have to go to the Centre."

Shiro was given the look he was starting to think of as hopeful kitten. Big eyes, little expression but a world of hope.

"Don't want to be there with the other kids?"

Keith wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "They're noisy and I don't like them."

"Used to it being just you and your Dad, huh?" And now he was in a home with three or four other children. "It must be pretty hard having people around all the time. I don't think I'd want to go and spend time with lots of other people either in your situation."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. I like some time alone from people sometimes. In quiet."

"Mm." Keith nodded. "It was heaps quieter with Daddy. We didn't have anyone else living near us, either."

"Wow, it must have been super quiet," Shiro commented.

"Well, there was no people, but the wind and the animals and birds made lots of noise. It was a different sort of noise, though. And the wind didn't pull my hair and call me names and tell me off for getting angry."

No wonder Keith didn't like going home. It had to be bad enough with regular siblings, but to be in a home with a bunch of other fostered children with their own problems and difficulties. "I'm sorry it's like that. It must suck."

Keith hummed again. It was an improvement on the grunts or sullen silences.

"How about we go to the library, then? I'll book us a quiet study room and you can spend some time without any one bugging. I'll be there, but I'll stay quiet and just let you enjoy some space. Sound good?"

There was a small nod and that big eyed gaze. "Yes."

"Okay. We should start walking to the city hall, though. Or we can stay a bit longer and catch the bus."

"Walk." Keith stood up and adjusted his bag. "I don't like buses."

Crowded. Of course he didn't.

"I like them more than the car. Tyler pulls my hair and says it's girly."

It had to be one of the other children with Angchok. "Well, if he pulls, tell Angchok he's hurting you. That's not okay."

"Angchok yells at him, but he just does it again until I hit him."

"And then you get in trouble for hitting?"

Keith nodded and started walking. Shiro strode to catch up and then let his pace fall slow and lazy. Keith's little legs just weren't that fast.

"It's not fair." Shiro understood that.

"Life isn't fair," Keith retorted. "Anna-Marie says that all the time. Life isn't fair, get used to it."

"Well, that's not true. Life isn't fair or unfair. But people can be fair. Or not fair. And it's not fair that Tyler hurts you and gets away with it but you get in trouble. Do you want me to say something to Angchok?"

Keith shrugged.

Shiro would let him think about it. He knew it was an option now, that Shiro would do it if he asked him to.

"Did you walk much with your Dad?"

"Sometimes. We took the RS2 most places, because it was a long way away. But then we'd walk when we got to where we were going. And I walked around where we lived. I knew all the rocks and shrubs. And there were these lizards, with short, fat tails that looked like their heads. She lived in some rocks and when she had babies she'd have two and they'd waddle around after her."

And now he lived in a house in the city with a bunch of other kids and a stranger for a guardian. "It sounds like it was really nice," Shiro managed to say.

"Yeah." Keith scuffed his toes into the pavement while they waited for a light to change. 

"Is there anything living in the yard at Angchok's?"

"Not really. Too much noise and too many people." They started across, into the proper CBD and to the City Hall. 

"That makes sense. We had a raccoon dog living in our backyard for a while."

"I've never seen one of them in real life. Did you take photos? Like you did of our click-bricks?"

"You know, I think I did. Want me to find the photos and bring them Saturday?"

"Yes. Please." The please was an afterthought, but it was a thought.

"All right. But we still have to make sure it's okay with Angchok."

"He won't mind. He said it was nice not having me and Tyler and Anna-Maria fighting all day. When you stop taking me for sessions, he'll be upset that I'm about all the time."

"Keith, I'm not going away. We're going to keep having meet ups and hanging out together. They're not sessions, okay? Not like a therapist. You know what they are?"

"Yes. I had one when they took me away from Dad. He was okay." Keith started to slow as they got close to the City Hall. "When we stop meeting up, he'll be upset."

"I'm still not going to stop hanging out with you." Shiro slowed as Keith did, crouching down to look Keith in the eye. "You don't have to believe me. That's okay. But I'll keep telling you and I'll keep coming back."

Silence. 

"Okay." Shiro stood up, looking to the doors. "Should we wait out here for him?"

"No." Keith trudged up the stairs like a man walking to the guillotine, slipping inside as Shiro followed him.

One of the desk girls smiled. "Oh, you're one of Mister Angchok's flock, aren't you?"

Keith stared blankly.

"Yes, he is. Could you point us to his office?"

"Down the hall, elevators to third floor, left, third on the right." She gestured.

"Thanks. Coming, Keith?" Shiro ushered the boy ahead of him. Keith went obediently, into the elevator and up to the third floor and then dragging his feet while Shiro went to Angchok's door and knocked.

"Come in, but I don't have lon- Oh. Shirogane. Is it already five?"

The office was chaos, files and folders and tablets everywhere. And a box of toys with a bookcase of books to entertain children.

Keith trailed in, sitting down on one of the seats and hugging his bag to him.

"Yeah, it's five. I was thinking, could we arrange for another meet up? Saturday?" Might as well try and sort it out now.

"What? Yes, of course, only I have to take Anna-Maria to an appointment and Tyler has his match-"

"I can put aside the whole day, if it would help." He'd have other stuff to do, but he could do it with Keith as well as he could without.

"Maybe, look, can I call you tonight? I'm sorry, I have paperwork to finish and, you know how it is."

"Right. Sure." Shiro looked to Keith. "I'll see you Saturday, okay?"

"Okay," Keith intoned.

Shiro hesitated and gave a smile. "Later, buddy."

He left before he did something stupid. Like hug Keith.

Or pick him up and run off with him.


	5. Chapter 5

The Saturday meet up went well. Shiro met Keith at ten (ish) and stayed with him until nearly dinner time. He took Keith back to Angchok's and up to the door, not trying to go in, not really wanting to with the amount of noise happening inside.

 

Not wanting to have to send Keith back in, but the boy just went in silently, almost immediately being barrelled into by two other children of similar age and pulled off, all screaming at each other.

 

They did another Wednesday meet up after that. It took a bit longer to coax Keith back out of his shell and he snapped at Shiro twice, calling him an idiot once and pushing him the second time. Shiro stayed calm, told Keith he was hurt by that and was quickly given a genuine apology.

 

Saturday was another long visit, with a few more outbursts before he seemed to settle again. It worried Shiro, to see the way Keith pulled back between visits, was getting angrier every time Shiro saw him.

 

He was worried when he came home. Worried enough that his dad came to sit next to him, offering him a fresh bread roll with butter melting on it. "Your little brother?"

 

"Yeah." He picked at the bread. "He's a good kid. He's sweet and he has all these interests, but where he's living... I don't think it's doing him any favours." He leaned into his dad, putting his head on his shoulder. "In fact I think it's really messing him up. He was an only child living in the middle of nowhere and now he's being picked on by the other kids and surrounded by noise and... it's breaking my heart, Dad." He sighed. "I can't even hug him. He hates being touched."

 

His dad hugged him with one arm; Shiro shifted to moosh his face into his dad's shoulder. "If it's too much for you-"

 

"No. I can't do that to him. The last family told him he was a hellion and sent him away. He keeps asking me when I'll stop seeing him. I can't be another person who gave up on him because it was hard."

 

There was a smacking kiss on the top of his head. "I didn't expect anything else from you, Taka-kun."

 

He looked up at his dad. "You don't think I'm crazy for sticking it out?"

 

"I don't think you'd be my boy if you didn't. But you don't have to do it alone. I can keep baking, maybe arrange the occasional bit of extra pocket money so you can take him somewhere...?"

 

Shiro hugged his dad around the waist. "Thanks. You're the best."

 

"I know." Another tight squeeze. "And I will continue being the best until you're an adult."

 

Shiro chuckled–definitely not a giggle–and felt a little better about the whole thing.

 

Well enough that he found himself walking to pick up Keith on Tuesday with a bit of a spring in his step. They were trying three days a week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and Shiro was hopeful that the increase in days would help Keith relax more and get less stressed by his homelife.

 

He nodded to Alice (year above him, picking up twins in the grade below Keith) and gave a small smile to the three parents who always walked their children home in a line holding onto a rope (neighbours, he presumed, or the same street at least) and arrived in time for the bell to ring.

 

There was never a rush to jump forward. Keith was usually among the last out. Shiro never asked if that was his choice, to linger until others were gone, or if the teacher often spoke to him after class about the day and any problems.

 

When he spotted Keith's tousled head among the stragglers, he found himself smiling.

 

It didn't last.

 

There was a trio of kids. Shiro had seen them picking on Keith before, taunting, pushing, trying to make him react. One of them was poking him while the other two circled.

 

Shiro frowned, straightened.

 

Keith was shoved backward and the other two grabbed his bag, wrestling it off him and taking off, screeching and laughing.

 

"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

 

Keith took after them, snarling and screaming. Shiro was already taking off across the yard but Keith got to the one with his bag first.

 

The bag was tossed to another one.

 

Keith kept going, slamming into the other boy with his shoulder and bearing him down to the ground. He threw two sharp punches straight for the boy's face, unrestrained and furious. Blood spurted from the boy's nose and then there was a teacher and Shiro got to them.

 

The teacher was dragging Keith off, yelling at him. The boy was crying, the other two seemed unsure what to do.

 

"Bag," Shiro said coldly. He held out his hand.

 

The bag was handed over. "Didn't mean nothing," the girl stated. "Just 'cause he's a freak about it."

 

Shiro ignored her. Keith was fighting against being restrained, kicking wildly and howling like a banshee; Shiro hurried closer. "Hey, hey, I've got your bag, it's okay, Keith, Keith!"

 

"IT'S MINE!"

 

It didn't seem to be aimed at Shiro. It was just screamed to the yard.

 

"Keith! You wicked boy, you don't hit! You know not to hit!" The teacher managed to get the boy's arms behind his back, gripping his wrists to hold him still.

 

"No!" Without thinking, Shiro grabbed her arm. "You'll hurt him, he's just a scared, little boy!"

 

She looked to him, actually focused on him rather than just noting his presence and moving on. "You're his-"

 

"Big brother. Through the program, please, you'll hurt him. He'll hurt himself trying to get free, he just wants his bag back."

 

Her distraction was enough for Keith to pull his arm free, grabbing his bag and pulling it to his chest. She tried to grab his arm again and he got free, taking off away from them.

 

"Keith!" Shiro stepped between the teacher and the boy. "Please! I can handle this, I know, no hitting, but those children are bullying him and he's scared and hurt."

 

"I need to call his guardian. Where has he- Oh for, we'll never get him down from there. You, make sure he doesn't run away and stays up that tree. I'm calling his guardian."

 

Shiro gritted his teeth. She was a trained adult and he was just Keith's volunteer big brother, but he knew, in his gut, everything she was doing was the wrong way of handling it. Handling Keith and the bullying.

 

The bullies were gathered together. A mother was dabbing at her darling's bruised noise.

 

Shiro unkindly hoped it was broken, but dismissed it. It didn't matter. Keith mattered.

 

He jogged over to the tree and looked up. He could see flashes of his yellow tee shirt, the red of his backpack. "Keith?"

 

The colours shifted, shuffling around the tree trunk and out of sight more.

 

"I'm not angry, Keith. I just want to know you're not hurt." Not okay. He wasn't okay, he had to be scared and shaken up.

 

Nothing.

 

"Can I come up? I won't try and get near you. I promise. I'm just worried about you, buddy." He shifted slightly to try and see, or hear a soft reply.

 

Nothing.

 

He wasn't surprised.

 

"Well, that's okay. I'll wait down here. And I'll explain what happened to that teacher and to Angchok. You didn't start this. I don't blame you, Keith. This wasn't your fault."

 

Shiro sat himself at the base of the tree like he had at the Centre, quite prepared to stay as long as he needed to for Keith to come down. He was pretty sure he wouldn't until he was sure that the teacher wouldn't come back. Probably longer.

 

Hunger might compel him to come down eventually. Or thirst. But Shiro didn't want to wait that long. He didn't want Keith to have to be suffering to force him back down.

 

"I've called your guardian, Keith. He's very disappointed, making him come out from work with your naughty behaviour."

 

Shiro could almost feel his hackles go up at her voice. He wondered if that was how  _ everyone _ made Keith feel. "Don't do that. Please. He's scared."

 

"So he should be, do you think Lelei wasn't scared when he was hit like that?"

 

"I'm sure he was, ma'am, but those kids were bullying Keith. I've seen them do it before, had to chase them away from him. I know, Keith shouldn't have hit him, that was wrong, but those kids, that boy? He wasn't some innocent victim. They were shoving him around and then stole his bag." He sighed. "I know what he did was wrong. But now he's scared. And he's not going to come down if he knows you're just going to yell at him."

 

She seemed to realise the truth in that. "I'll be staying here until his guardian arrives, to explain the severity of the situation."

 

Shiro didn't argue with her, just bit his cheek and nodded, acknowledging her words more than actually agreeing. He then turned back to the tree, stepping in close and looking up again. "It's okay, Keith. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

 

Shiro stayed standing there, occasionally reminding Keith he was still there, would wait as long as he needed to, as long as  _ Keith _ needed him to.

 

He heard when Angchok arrived, blessedly free of the other children. The teacher moved off to talk to him; her heels clacked away after a while and Angchok moved up next to Shiro.

 

"Thank you for staying until I arrived. You can head off now."

 

Shiro frowned. "It's my afternoon with Keith. I don't have anywhere else to be."

 

"Yes, of course." Angchok gave him an absent smile, but it seemed almost condescending to Shiro. "But he can't be rewarded for this sort of behaviour by getting an afternoon out with you."

 

"Hang on, what?" Shiro straightened himself up. "I'm not a  _ reward _ . I don't spend time with him because he's good and he gets denied that when he has troubles. I would have thought that now more than ever is when he  _ does _ need this time with me. I'm not just someone who babysits for you, I'm his mentor. His Big Brother. My  _ duty _ to that little boy is to be a stable, guiding influence in his life, someone who doesn't give up and doesn't walk away. I chose to do that and I chose to do it for him. So I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to help him with what happened and what to do next time, so this doesn't happen when he's bullied  _ again _ ."

 

Angchok was staring at him like he'd just grown a second head.

 

Shiro made himself not squirm, no matter how much he felt like it.

 

Angchok kept staring until a rustle made them both look up.

 

Keith was sitting on one of the lower branches. He didn't look well, he was pale and blotchy from crying and his right hand looked bloodied from where he'd been hitting the other boy.

 

"Keith!" They both cried out.

 

Shiro pressed a hand to his chest, could feel his heart racing. "I was so worried for you, buddy."

 

"You scared us," Angchok said. "Come down here immediately."

 

"Angchok,  _ please _ ." Shiro looked at the man. "That won't help. Two wrongs don't make a right. Not Keith hitting his bullies. Not us, people who are meant to look after him, scaring him."

 

"You are an amazingly mature young man, Shirogane." Angchok inhaled, quiet but sharp and Shiro was suddenly aware of a light, steady pressure on his belt loop.

 

"Hey," he said softly, not moving. "You feel safe enough to come down, I'm glad." He slowly started turning, trying to not dislodge the boy.

 

Keith kept hold of Shiro's belt loop, looking up at him. He looked awful, really.

 

"You know," Shiro murmured. "I could really go a hug, if you think you wouldn't mind giving me one."

 

Keith kept staring. He started chewing on his lip.

 

"Or... if you wouldn't mind, maybe  _ I _ could give  _ you _ a hug?"

 

That drew a faint nod.

 

Shiro crouched down and carefully, so carefully, gave Keith a gentle hug. Both arms, not squeezing, not putting all his weight in it. 

 

Keith pressed in. He didn't hug back, not really, but he pressed as close as he could, hands coming to grip Shiro's shirt and hold on like that.

 

Tightening the hug a little, Shiro just reassured himself that Keith was all right. Shaken and scared, but ultimately safe now. He could feel him trembling ever so slightly against his chest, his hair tickling Shiro's cheek. "I've got you," he promised. "I'm not angry. I'm just glad you came down."

 

"I'm sorry," Keith whispered. "I'm sorry I hit him. I was angry."

 

"I know you were, buddy. They took your bag. You were angry, so you hit him because you hurt and you wanted him to feel hurt like you did." He rubbed Keith's back softly, gratified when the boy just leaned into him.

 

"Keith, you-"

 

"Don't," Shiro whispered. "He knows he did something wrong. He's apologised. He'll apologise to the other boy for hitting him. That boy will apologise for bullying Keith and stealing from him. And the other two."

 

Keith pulled back; Shiro let him.

 

"I'm... glad you came down from the tree," Angchok said.

 

"Do I still get my afternoon with Shiro?" Keith asked, instead of addressing anything else.

 

"Well, I don't kno-"

 

"You do," Shiro said firmly. "But we're not doing anything special. You said you're sorry, but you still hit that boy and you know it was wrong. So we'll go to the library. No park today, no more tree climbing. Understood?"

 

Angchok looked mildly annoyed, but he didn't contradict Shiro, especially not when Keith hung his head and nodded. "Understood."

 

"Good boy." Shiro stood up and looked at Angchok. "I'll have him back to your office by five, like usual. I know we've lost time, but that was because of Keith's actions and he'll just have to accept that."

 

Angchok nodded. "All right. I'll see you at five. Be good, Keith." He left slowly, as though unsure that he was actually leaving it in the hands of a teenager.

 

Shiro turned to Keith. "Come on, if we walk briskly, we'll still get a good amount of time before we have to go to City Hall." He offered Keith a bottle of water.

 

Keith took the bottle. And Shiro's hand as they walked.

 

*~*~*

 

Shiro decided the best way to deal with what Keith did–and mollify Angchok and the teacher–was to sit him down and have him write out other things he could do in a situation like that.

 

They had two columns, one for things you could do, but shouldn't and one for things you should do. Keith had written 'hitting' down without any prompting. Shiro had suggested that Keith's language wasn't appropriate, so 'swearing' got added and they talked about threatening to kill people or hurt them and Keith dutifully wrote those into the 'don't do' list.

 

What to do proved a little more difficult. 'Get an adult' was eventually written down, but it was clear Keith was skeptical. Which was heartbreaking, the sheer lack of faith he had in adults after not even a year in the foster system. Loudly saying 'please leave me alone' or loudly asking them to stop what they were doing, naming what they were doing.

 

The bag was a little more difficult. Shiro didn't want to ask why the bag was so important, because that didn't really matter. What mattered was that it  _ was _ that important.

 

They walked to City Hall. Keith didn't hold Shiro's hand again, but the fact he'd done so when he needed the comfort meant everything.

 

When they went through to Angchok's office, Keith quietly apologised for what he did and then handed over the work that they'd done together. He didn't say much else, so Shiro explained. "We talked about what happened and how to handle bullying from now. And that hitting is never appropriate."

 

"I'm... very glad to hear all that," Angchok commented. "This is a very mature way to handle things."

 

Shiro wasn't sure if that comment was for him or Keith, but Keith seemed quietly pleased with the idea that he'd done something right.

 

"So I'll be allowed to pick Keith up on Thursday? From school?" Shiro wanted to have it said, loud and clear.

 

"Yes, of course." Angchok gave a nod and met Shiro's gaze. "I'm very glad you chose Keith for your little brother."

 

"Thank you." Shiro knelt down to look at Keith. "You remember what we talked about, okay? Loud is okay. But no swearing or threatening."

 

"I'll remember," Keith promised solemnly. "Bye, Shiro."

 

"Bye, Keith." He headed out and back home. He needed a hug from his family and some time to destress after all of that.

 

When he got home, he must've been showing how stressful it had been on his face, because he found himself with control of movie choice for the evening and a bowl of ice cream before dinner was even discussed.

 

Talking it out helped. And when he mentioned the problem with the other kids stealing Keith's bag, his mum had a pretty ingenious idea of how to solve it. She even picked up what he'd need the next day, so that when he next saw Keith, he could do something about it.

 

Waiting outside the school was that little bit different after last time. There were a couple of glances, but Shiro made himself ignore them. The excitement would fade away eventually. People would–if not forget–lose interest in the whole thing.

 

When the siren went, the usual flood of children poured out. Also as usual, Keith came out near the back, when the rush had passed.

 

He didn't look particularly morose and he was being left alone by the other children. Shiro spotted one of the bullies keeping a wide berth, easily identifiable by the black eye and bruised nose. 

 

Keith stopped in front of him and looked up.

 

Shiro came him a smile. "Hey, buddy, how have you been?"

 

"You're here."

 

"Yeah." He crouched down. "Of course I am. You thought maybe I wouldn't want to come?"

 

Keith nodded.

 

"I'm not going to stop coming just because sometimes things aren't great. I promise. And I'm going to keep coming back until you believe that promise up here," he tapped his own head. "And here." And then over his heart.

 

Keith looked down again, shuffling on his feet.

 

"You want a hug?"

 

It made Keith pause to think. Not just a reflexive yes or no, but actually thought about it. "Yes."

 

Shiro beamed at him and opened up his arms. Keith leaned in, not hugging back and clearly content to let Shiro give him a squeeze before he wriggled to get free again.

 

Letting go immediately, Shiro pushed back to his feet. "You want to do the park today?"

 

Keith nodded.

 

"All right. Let's start walking." He adjusted his own backpack and tried not to smile too obviously when he saw a small hand reach up to hold onto the trailing length of strap.

 

They walked to the park and to what was becoming their usual table by the tree Keith liked to climb best. Shiro unpacked the afternoon snacks he had with him and gave Keith a wrapped parcel. "Biscuits. Dad-"

 

"-baked them." Keith gave a tiny smile.

 

Shiro laughed. "Yeah, he bakes a lot. I think he likes the excuse of being able to bake for both of us; Mum can't tell him off." He then also took out the strap his mother had picked up for him.

 

Keith's gaze was on it instantly, clearly curious.

 

"I was talking to Mum about your bag being taken, and she used to have a backpack for camping. And it had a strap which went across the chest, from one shoulder strap to the other. And it had a clip, to close it. It helped with the weight, but also stopped the straps slipping off your shoulders." He slid his own bag back on. "So... with this, you can loop it around the straps and clip it on, see? This carabiner, some people call it a D-Clip, can be used to secure it."

 

A length of strap with a split ring and a carabiner clip. The simplest solution they could think of. Shiro demonstrated, pushing the ring through the carabiner. "It can be done up really fast, but if you pull it, you can't undo it, see?" He showed Keith how to undo the carabiner and then snapped it up again. "So they can't rip your bag off you."

 

Keith was staring at it all with the widest, brightest gaze Shiro had ever seen on him. Then he looked up at Shiro, like Shiro had just plucked a star and was offering it to him. "You did this for me."

 

"Yeah. Well, I asked Mum and she helped me find a solution for you. I know your bag is super import- Oof."

 

And he had a double armful of delighted child.

 

"You're welcome," he murmured into the top of Keith's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the next chapter or two ready, but have slowed down due to professional writing requirements in life. So, it is still happening!


	6. Chapter 6

It was easy to settle into a routine. Tuesdays and Thursdays after school were park or library time with Keith. During those visits, Shiro would sound out what they'd do on Saturday and make what arrangements he could. Usually they'd go to a playground or park, but they hit up the library or a museum if it was the type of weather where Shiro didn't want Keith up trees.

Shiro's sixteenth birthday came and went. He didn't mention it to Keith, because he didn't want him to be upset that he didn't have anything to give Shiro. Maybe next year, if Keith hadn't got sick of him, he'd give him a head's up about it.

He really wanted to take Keith along to his family dinners or back home, but it just wasn't fair or appropriate. Keith was a little boy who clearly felt like he had no real home, just a place he lived. Taking him to a house with parents and a relatively more common living situation and then making him go back to Angchok's? Seemed like the ultimate cruelty.

Instead, things went slowly. Keith's trust was fragile; the smallest rejection or perceived betrayal would shatter the growing bond between them and leave him in a worse place than he'd been in when they first met.

Shiro kept to his simple rules. He always kept his word to Keith. He never lost his temper or raised his voice to him. He always explained why he was reacting the way he was. And he never pressured Keith to do anything, not hugs, not to eat if he didn't want to, so long as he was being safe, Shiro wouldn't condemn him.

Even if it meant two hours up a tree with Keith refusing to talk. Shiro just wanted him to know that there was never any pressure to be a certain way with him. Shiro's presence in his life was unconditional.

Which wasn't to say that Shiro wasn't shocked when he picked Keith up on Tuesday. He had never seen Keith look so downcast or so humiliated and given the state of his hair, he understood why.

"Keith... what on Earth happened to you, buddy?" 

"Tyler." 

Shiro crouched down. He was pleased to see Keith was using the strap to hold his bag on, but less pleased that Angchok had apparently seen fit to send Keith off to school when parts of his hair had been hacked off, leaving it uneven and patchy. 

"He said he wanted to make a voodoo doll of me. We got into a fight and he put glue in my hair. Angchok says we'll go to a hairdresser on the weekend, or I can let him shave my head immediately but I don't want a shaved head."

Shiro wanted to swear. It wasn't illegal, but it felt unnecessarily cruel to do that to a boy who had trouble fitting in anyway. "I'm so sorry. Hey. How about we try and find a hairdresser today? And fit they can't fit you in, we can go on Thursday."

"Angchok says it'll cost money and that we don't get Sunday treats because he has to spend the money having my hair fixed." Keith scuffed his feet on the ground.

"Well, I can afford it. It might mean we don't eat out for a visit or two, but I'll bring snacks from home." He gave Keith a small smile. "And if they can't do it today, we'll get you a hat for the next few days, okay? That sound like a good solution?"

Keith nodded slowly. "Thank you, Shiro. That's, really nice."

"Hey, what else would a good big brother do?" He stood up again. "The strap keeping your bag firmly on?"

"Yeah! Jane pulled on it and it didn't come off at all and I didn't scream at her, or hit her, I just said 'Don't pull on my bag, Jane' in a big voice and she stopped."

"Whoa! Go you! I am so, super proud of you." Shiro could virtually feel his chest aching with how proud he was. "You know what? I think that deserves something special. What would you like that I can make happen?"

"Um..." Keith rocked on his feet. "I- dunno. Can I think about it?"

"Sure. You just let me know. Just nothing too crazy, I can't buy you your own sports car."

The little joke made Keith smile a bit as they walked to the bus stop.

The bus trip was perfectly normal, at least. They both stood, Shiro holding onto the bar, Keith holding onto Shiro for balance. They just went another two stops to the main retail district before disembarking.

Shiro took Keith to one of the hairdressers he'd been to and, more importantly, had seen families with younger children going to. While old enough to behave during a haircut, Keith's aversion to being touched by strangers needed someone with a little more understanding than maybe a barber shop would usually hold.

Inside was busy. Very busy. The girl on the desk gave them a tight smile and then a more sympathetic look when she saw the state Keith was in. "I'm sorry, we don't have anything to today," she opened with. "We normally have a couple of emergency appointment slots, but we had someone call in sick today. I can fit you in tomorrow?"

"Thursday? We have Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays together. We can be here around this time, is there something then?" He tried not to smile as Keith moved in against him, using Shiro as a shield. 

"Oh, um, yeah, we can do then. I can give the appointment on the half hour, which gives you a little leeway on timings?"

"That'd be great thanks. The appointment's for Keith, I'm Shiro, I can give you my contact number." He touched his phone to the contact point to transfer his number. "Thank you."

"Thanks, Shiro, we'll send you a confirmation on the day." The girl gave him a smile and gave Keith a small wave as they headed back out.

Keith pressed a little closer to Shiro in response.

That sorted and back outside, Shiro steered them towards an accessories store. It didn't have to be anything super fancy, but Keith needed something to get him through the next two days of school.

It was fairly cold, so a beanie would seem perfect. The concerns of picking the right one out were settled quickly by Keith zeroing in on a dark grey slouch beanie with a dark red lining. "This one."

"Try it on first," Shiro said with a laugh.

Keith tugged it on. A little large, but it looked fine and he seemed happy with it. "This one."

"All right, this one. You need to give it here so I can buy it, then you can have it back."

The hat was handed over and Shiro got it scanned and handed back as fast as possible. Keith wandered around, looking but not touching, while Shiro sorted the payment and then trotted along after him, mood visibly and tangibly improved by the promise of having his hair fixed and a hat to cover it in the meantime.

Rather than walk to the park, they went to an alfresco eating space with a climbing gym. Shiro got some snacks into Keith and turned him loose on the gym to burn off some energy.

He got out his tablet and started making notes. He didn't have a job like most of the Big Brothers and Sisters, but he could take up something like tutoring. It would help reinforce what he knew already and could earn him some extra money for times like this. He didn't want to be relying on his parents, not when he was the one who signed up for the program.

Really... he'd like to work towards having Keith moved to another foster home. Angchok was a nice enough man, but he worked a lot, had a house of kids who all needed help and attention and the whole thing was clearly just stressing Keith even more and making his trust and behavioural problems worse.

Maybe Ms DuBois could help him. He made a note to contact her and ask. If she couldn't, maybe one of the other mentors would have experience and could help him sort it out. They were there to support the children, but also to support each other.

He made a note to check the support forum. Or maybe ask his parents to help him with it.

"Shiro!"

He looked up, smiling at the sight of Keith at the very top of the climbing gym. "Whoa, you get up there on your own?"

"Uh-huh." He hooked his knees on a bar and swung upside down; Shiro felt his heart leap into his mouth but Keith swung perfectly securely and comfortably.

"Can I take a picture? Show my parents how awesome you are at climbing?"

"Yes." He was grabbing his hat to pull it on more securely, so Shiro took a photo quickly, before he decided to right himself again.

Sure enough, it was only moments until Keith was scaling his way down like a monkey and running over. "And my hat! You should show them you got me a hat, because that's really cool."

"Oh. Yeah, I should." He leaned back and lifted his phone, hesitating. Did Keith mean a photo of him wearing the hat, or was he going to pull it off and let Shiro photograph it by itself?

Keith gave a smile, maybe not as huge and cheesy as many eight year olds, but it was still bigger and more playful than anything Shiro had seen from Keith. And pointed at his hat.

Shiro took the picture.

Keith ran off again nearly immediately, but Shiro felt like he wouldn't even be able to stand if he tried, weak as they were with overwhelming emotion.

He looked from his phone to the little boy who, six weeks ago, wouldn't even play in a yard with other children as he showed another little boy how to hook his feet into the monkey bars to swing upside down with a solid anchor.

*~*~*

It was thirty-four past eleven at night when Shiro's phone rang, stirring him from his sleep. He hadn't been asleep long or deep, so he felt sort of groggy as he grabbed his phone and blearily stared at it.

_Angchok._

Suddenly more awake, he hit answer. "Angchok?"

"Shiro! I know it's late, but has Keith called you?"

"... No?"

"He's not with you?"

"No. Why would he be with me?" Shiro sat up slowly, turning on the light. "Angchok, what's happened?"

"I thought he was in his room, but he's not. And we can't find him anywhere in the house or on the property."

Shiro's heart jumped to his throat, choking his breath. "What?"

"I thought, if he's not here, he might have gone to find you."

"He doesn't know where I live, how would he come here? He's _eight_ , it's the middle of the night." Shiro was getting up now, heading for his parents room. "How long as he been missing?"

"We don't know. He was sent to his room at seven."

"Shit," Shiro breathed out. "That's four and a half hours." He banged on his parents door. "Mum! Dad! Keith's missing!"

"We're calling the police. Where do you think he would go?"

His mother appeared, wearing her reading glasses and face a mask of concern. "Missing?"

"He's run away. They can't find him." He strode back to his room, grabbing his boots. "It's freezing out there, he might have gone to the Centre? Or his school?" Or somewhere he liked. "There's a park I take him to, we'll go and check there."

"We'll go to the Centre, then the school." Angchok's voice became muffled briefly. "I don't care, Tyler, you're not staying here alone, get your shoes and coat or you'll go barefoot and cold in the car! Right, you'll check the park."

"And... the library. He might head there." He liked the quiet and peace; he might try to get in there.

"I'll tell the police, they can contact the night security to search for him."

Shiro couldn't see Keith reacting well to police. "Okay. If you find him-"

"We'll call you. Anna-Marie! Grab Tyler! We're heading out now, call me-"

"-if we find him," Shiro finished off. "I will. Hope to hear from you soon." He hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket, pulling his boots on and doing them up.

"Dad's getting a couple of heat packs and a blanket," his mum said from the doorway. "He's going to be cold."

"Yeah." Shiro did up his coat and pulled on a hat. The days were tending towards chilly. The night, though, the nights were cold enough for frost every morning and he doubted that even with winter clothing, Keith could stay warm enough out there.

They all bundled into the hover and set off. The park wasn't too far away, ten minutes drive usually, five at this time of night. It was still nearly midnight when they got there, piling out with torches to start searching.

Shiro went straight for their usual table and Keith's favourite tree. The frost was forming in an even layer, undisturbed by small feet passing nearby.

He went to the tree, shining his torch up. "Keith? Keith, are you up there? It's Shiro. I won't be mad, just let me know if you're up there."

He shifted, trying to get different angles, but there was nothing that suggested the little boy was up there.

He moved onto a couple of other trees Keith climbed, calling up them, looking for any sign of him. Each time there was only the cold night air and sharp shadows cast by his torchlight.

"Any luck?"

He shook his head. "I don't think he's here. And if he was in the library, they would've found him."

"Nothing from Angchok?" His father wrapped an arm around him. "At the school?"

"They were going to the Centre first, but no, nothing." And he had a horrible feeling that Keith wouldn't come out for Angchok, not if he'd run away in the first place.

"Do you want to go to the library, check around the outside and see if he's hiding there?"

"I- yeah. If he was here, he would've come out. I think. For me." Shiro breathed out, watching his breath condense in a white cloud. 

"Come on. We'll check the library and surrounds. And if we haven't heard from Angchok then, give him a call." His father started them back towards their vehicle.

"I'm just scared. What if we don't find him?"

"We'll find him, I'm sure we will," his dad promised. "When he knows you're looking for him, he'll come out for you, I'm sure."

"I hope so," Shiro whispered. "He's only eight."

"I know." They got back into the cabin. Shiro activated his restraint, pulling off his gloves and rubbing his fingers to warm them up.

"We'll check the library. Call Angchok. And then, we can go to the school, in case they missed him, or he's moved."

He met his mother's gaze in the rear view mirror. "Yeah. I can't think of anywhere else he might go. Not since I met him. But before that- I mean, I don't know where he thinks his father is, would he go looking for him? Try to go back to the house he lived in with him?"

"... Kashi. Scale it back. We'll check the local places and exhaust all those options before we start worrying about anywhere further away." His father's level tone helped to settle the rising tide of fear. "He is only eight, he can't have got too far, even in four hours. With any luck, he went somewhere close by and just bunkered in for the night."

"Yeah." Shiro nodded. "Yeah. He lived in... in scrublands, I think. He'd know nights are cold. Really cold."

"There you go. He's a bit of a hot head, but he's not a stupid boy."

"No. No, he's not at all stupid." He was quick witted, curious, he was many things, but far from stupid.

They pulled into the library parking area. Shiro was out before the engine had stopped, looking around them. There were all kinds of places a kid might hide, even if he didn't go inside. With night opening hours, he would've been noticed on his own, so young.

"Check all the trees. Even if you think he couldn't get up them, he's amazingly good at getting up bare trunk, so always check." Shiro turned his torch back on and set off across the lawn.

He saw his mother moving towards the trees and his father moving to the door to talk to the staff, presumably. He shifted his attention back to the task at hand, moving out a bit more into the darkness.

"Keith? It's Shiro." He called out, trying to make sure he was heard. "I'm not angry, I'm just really scared for you, buddy. This is one of those times that I need you to come over to me."

He stood there, feeling the cold air burning through his chest as he breathed.

"Keith?! Please!"

There was a noise. A crunch of frost and leaves underfoot. Shiro shone his torch at the noise.

"Keith." He lowered the beam to not dazzle him. "Keith, buddy, please, come here. I was so scared for you." 

Keith took one faltering step. Then another.

Shiro nodded encouragingly and held out his arms. "Please. I won't even hug you if you don't want. Just, come to me, buddy. Please."

Keith took another step and paused. Then started walking towards Shiro, and then running, until he crashed into him.

Shiro buried his face into the top of Keith's hat and tried not to cry with relief.


End file.
